“The Great Warrior of Montauban” by Antoine Bourdelle

“The Great Warrior of Montauban” by Antoine Bourdelle was commissioned in 1897, by the village of Montauban to commemorate the Franco-Prussian War. Often referred to in France as the War of 1870 it was a conflict between France and the German states led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The battle was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and the French fears of the shift in the European balance of power.

Antoine Bourdelle was an influential and prolific French sculptor, painter, and teacher. He became one of the pioneers of 20th-century monumental sculpture, and Auguste Rodin became a great admirer of his work, and in 1893 Bourdelle joined Rodin as his assistant. He became a favourite teacher, and many future prominent artists attended his classes and thus his influence on sculpture was considerable.